Remainder of Chapter 5 in Geography of Nowhere

Below are the remaining comments I planned to make about this chapter on architectural styles, especially the rise of "Modernism" and how it contributed to creating the "geography of nowhere."

1. Kunstler characterizes the utopian-socialist ideas of the Bauhaus architects, who would eventually have a great impact on America. (See p. 71, first two paragraphs) Basically, "They romanticized the machine and embraced the growing mechanization of life as a wonderful development." (p. 71)

a) He also mentions Le Corbusier in this regard and his belief that "the house is a machine for living." (p. 72)

2. These architects fled to America when Hitler came to power, and because they were anti-Hitler they became part of the cultural establishment of America. And given that we were in for a period of considerable industrial and residential development after World War II, these architects and their "vision" had an inordinate influence.

3. Philip Johnson, a disciple of one of the architects connected with what was called "The International Style" made a revealing admission in an 1989 interview -- "The International Style did sweep the world because it came along at the same time developers wanted to make cheap buildings, and this was cheaper than other architectures." (pp. 80-81)

4. Eventually, along came Robert Venturi who ushered in the postmodern phase with his 1967 book, which Kunstler broadly characterizes as follows: "Where Modernists had championed an architecture that was 'heroic and original,' Venturi now called for one that dared to be 'ugly and ordinary.'" (p. 81)

a.) In some of his most biting sarcasm, Kunstler comments further on just how "ugly and ordinary" this postmodern approach was --

"As for the bad urbanism of the strip, the complete lack of relationship between buildings, the obliteration of human scale, the tyranny of the car -- no problem. 'We might not like cars, but a large part of the population does,' Venturi had written earlier. It was a 'taste culture' issue. They were like stoned graduate students on a field trip, their critical faculties gone up in smoke." (p. 82)

Also, commenting on some of the buildings that came out of this -- "As if to say, 'Here, you nation of morons, is another inevitably banal, cheap concrete box, of the only type your sordid civilization allows, topped by some cheap and foolish ornament worthy of your TV-addled brains.'" (p.83)

5. Finally, let me call your attention to a nice summary statement in the last paragraph of the chapter. See p. 84.


That brings us up to Chapter 6, Joyride, which chronicles the rise of the automobile and the demise of the electric trolley. We'll focus on the demise of the electric trolley and the forces behind that (pp. 90-92) when we see "Taken for a Ride" next Tuesday, 11/4.

Family Midterm Exam Questions

Below are the midterm exam questions that I accepted. You'll note that I did edit the questions and answers to some extent.

GREEN FAMILY: (earns 3 points + 1 bonus point)

1. Give TWO examples of how Portland, Oregon has avoided the negative aspects of sprawl. (2pts)

ANSWER: Any two of the following:(a)State of Oregon imposed "growth boundaries" around cities, which helped to protect forests and farms and open space and forced cities like Portland to concentrate on their downtowns.
(b) Portland tore up a downtown freeway and converted the area to a park.
(c) limited downtown parking spaces.
(d) developed an integrated transit system of buses and light rail, and bikes.
(e) controlled "big box" stores from springing up by limiting their size and the number of parking spaces they could have.

2. Identify any ONE of the three defining characteristics of the city and the social consequences of this characteristic, which Wirth presents in his famous essay, "Urbanism as a Way of Life." (2pts)

ANSWER: Any one of the following: (a) large population -- diversity; more reliance on formal social control and secondary groups. (b) high population density -- more specialization; more anti-social behavior. (c)increased social heterogeneity -- depersonalization; personal relations based more on money.


YELLOW FAMILY: (earns 3 points)

1. Name and briefly describe TWO ways urban sprawl is damaging. (2pts)

ANSWER: Any TWO of the following: (a) Environmentally -- eats up land, natural resources; dependence on cars leads to pollution. (b) Economically -- sprawl development is heavily subsidized -- it costs more in terms of services than it contributes in terms of taxes. (c) City life & culture -- sprawl robs cities of businesses, people. Historical landmarks and buildings in the city suffer due to declining tax base, and lower classes are stuck in cities with minimal social sevices.


BLUE FAMILY: (earns 3 points)

1. Identify any TWO traits of urbanites that come through in Simmel's essay, "Metropolis and Mental Life." (2pts)

ANSWER: Any two of the following: (a) rational, (b) calculating, (c) time conscious, (d) blase attitude.


Remember these questions will be on the midterm exam. See you next Tuesday.

Quoted Passage & Reminder

The first long passage I quoted yesterday (10/7) was an important overall critical comment on Louis Wirth, which I believe goes to the heart of a weakness in much of the classical urban sociology we covered:

"Wirth's mistake, and that of other classic theorists, was to allow the most visible aspects of city life, its PUBLIC demeanor, to become the basis of his theory about urban living in general. Although, following Park, he did acknowledge the neighborhood element in city life, he tended to focus his attention on 'street behavior.' Wirth saw, of course, the hustling, competing, apparently lonely crowd. By not examining more closely the PRIVATE lives of the city's citizens, he inadvertently distorted urban life into a stereotype of impersonality."
"We are led, then, to the conclusion that the early study of both rural and urban places suffered from what might be called a 'misplaced concreteness.'...There is an important difference between the statement that one commonly sees more strangers in cities and the statement that cities are impersonal. In some ways they are; in other ways they most certainly are not."

Then, in making a quick transition to the urban political economy perspective, I quoted the authors of the text saying the following:
"The new urban sociology which has emerged in the wake of the classical urbanists' failing theories, sees the city as existing in a complex historical, cultural, and economic setting. All these elements play a role in how the city operates, and all must be carefully examined by systematic research."
But, as I went on to stress, the urban political economy perspective especially emphasizes politics and economics, of course, above all other institutions.


REMINDER: Tomorrow (Thurs. 10/9) I will quickly wrap up the urban political economy view, and then move right into Heat Wave. You should be well into that book by now. Tomorrow, I will also give the families a little time to brainstorm some midterm exam questions (and some time next Tuesday). Finally, don't forget that your first essay is due next Tuesday 10/14.

Family Activity: Making Up Midterm Exam Questions & Reminders

As I announced last week, our midterm exam will be coming up in two weeks -- Tuesday, Oct. 21st, to be precise. In preparation for that I am going to give you an opportunity to make up some of the questions which will appear on that test. This family activity is described below:

FAMILY ACTIVITY: MAKING UP EXAM QUESTIONS: I will give the families some time in class this week, beginning on Thurs. 10/9, to brainstorm some midterm exam questions. I will also give you some time next Tuesday, 10/14 to confer with your family members. I want each family to come up with THREE SHORT-ANSWER questions (and answers) based on anything we've covered in class since the beginning of the term. This would include: lecture notes including notes and passages posted on this blog, any handouts, and however far we get in Heat Wave by the end of next week. You will need to come to some consensus on your three best questions, because I WILL ONLY ACCEPT THREE QUESTIONS FROM EACH FAMILY. I will then look them over and select at least ONE question from each family. However, for each additional question I accept, that family will earn a bonus point. So, it is possible to earn 2 bonus points for this exercise, and there will be the added advantage of knowing more of the questions on the test. ALL QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS) MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST BY 1PM, WEDNESDAY 10/15 -- NO EXCEPTIONS. I want to be able to look over your questions and make my selections by Thursday 10/16, when I wil set aside some class time for review. This activity is worth 3 points.


REMINDERS: Keep in mind that we will be making a transition to Heat Wave this week, most likely on Tuesday. For the sake of class and your essay which is due in a week, you should try to read through Chapter 2 this week.

Quoted passage

Before I post the passage I quoted yesterday (which you should incorporate in your notes of course), let me call your attention to the blog post for yesterday which is a description of the longer paper you will be required to do. I do not plan to hand out a hard copy, so you will need to refer to that blog post when you get ready to start working on it.

The only passage I quoted yesterday underscored an important difference between Durkheim and Tonnies and their views of the city:

"Although both theorists recognized that cities were associated with the growth of social differentiation and individuality, Tonnies feared the undermining of the very fabric of social life, whereas Durkheim saw the possibility of continuing social cohesion and greater human development."

We'll start tomorrow with Georg Simmel's "Metropolis and Mental Life". And we will begin to talk about Heat Wave next week. Also, a reminder to the Green family to post your case against sprawl. If it is not up by tomorrow, you will not get any credit for it.